Blasting and drilling to be done until early next year

Drilling and blasting work on portions of the University Station site is expected to last into February of 2014.

Kristen Lee/Correspondent

Drilling and blasting work on portions of the University Station site is expected to last into February of 2014.

Westwood residents were told at an informational meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 14, that blasting will begin at the end of the month and last until January or February.

When the work begins, one or two blasts will occur Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day, according to Ken Smith of Maine Drilling and Blasting. It is estimated that traffic on University Avenue will not be greatly affected, though there may be very brief stops when a blast goes off.

Click here for WestCAT's recording of the blasting presentation.

Smith said those closest to the blasting site are buildings on University Avenue, the NStar headquarters, and residents living on Hemlock Drive, Partridge Drive, Porter Street, and Whitewood Road. Those homes are over 500 feet away from the blasting and should be safe, because vibrations decrease over distances, though the company has sent out 43 pre-blasting surveys to residents.

“It’s protection for the homeowners and it’s protection for us because we have a record of what that (home) looked like,” said Smith.

Details of the work

The company will be placing seismographs along the perimeter of the 500-foot boundary around the blasting site to monitor the ground vibrations and, in case damage is found to a home or building, the records can help in the investigation following reports of damages.

If damage is found and an investigation is required, the law requires a representative from Maine Blasting and Drilling to get in contact with the person who filed the complaint within 30 days to start the investigation, said Smith.

Residents in attendance at the meeting were concerned about the blasting schedule, and some seemed a bit taken aback by the fact that there would be blasting done so often until January or February.

Though residents living on Hemlock, Partridge, Porter and Whitewood should be far enough away from the blasting to avoid having any damage done to their property, Smith said, “we believe you will be, at least close enough, if conditions are right, (to) perceive some of the effects from blasting.”

By this, Smith meant it may be possible to feel some ground vibrations, and hear the blasts and horns. But Deputy Fire Chief Mike Reardon made the point that because Maine Blasting and Drilling had already done some work on the site in 2007, blasting would not be “aimed at the residences and NStar and State Street. It’s actually aimed toward the railroad.”

The plan is to begin blasting at the shallower end, near Rosemont Road, where the rock is not too thick and work over to where the rock is thicker at the end, near Harvard Street.

“We’d like to do it in chronological order and start at one end and progress across the site,” said Smith

Blasts will be preceded by horns which are meant to warn everyone in the area. Five minutes before a blast, three horns will sound, one minute before a blast two horns will sound, and after the blast is done, one horn will sound.

Smith said the horns could be heard about 1,000 feet away, but could not be heard 2,000 feet away. Residents also have the option of contacting Maine Blasting and Drilling and signing up to receive a phone call informing them of the blasts.

If residents have any concerns, they are encouraged to contact the State Fire Marshall and fill out a complaint form.